Resurrected- A Naruto Fanfic
by GhostlyPotato
Summary: What if after the battle with Pain, along with the villagers, Naruto's parents were resurrected? No pairings. I do not own Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

Naruto was laying in an infirmary bed getting some well-deserved rest. After the cheering died down when Kakashi brought Naruto back after the fight with Pain, Sakura practically pulled Naruto to the infirmary tent. Naruto didn't complain; He was exhausted and wanted some sleep.

Kakashi, meanwhile, was guarding the front of the tent Naruto was in. He didn't want any intruders while the hero of the village was getting some rest. Though as he was trying to read his same book for the umpteenth time, he couldn't focus on the words in front of him. Something was off, he felt it. Kakashi looked up at the clear, blue sky. This wasn't a bad off, on the contrary it was quite the opposite. He felt something good in the pit of his stomach. He felt like smiling. After the good that came from this zero-casualty battle, what else was in store? Kakashi went back to his book, excited to see what was in store.

* * *

Sakura was fussing over Tsunade, trying everything to get her to wake up. Trying to keep the tears from falling, she made her way to the cupboard of medical supplies, seeing what it is they have left and hoping to find something for an antidote. She was so distracted that she didn't notice the presence that came up behind her. "Sakura." Sakura jumped at the presence she didn't know had joined her but turned around as she recognized the familiar voice.

"Shizune." Shizune looked just as upset as Sakura but she held her head high.

"I'll look after Tsunade Sama, we're running low on some herbs that I was hoping you can retrieve for me." Shizune had an empty basket and a list that she held out to Sakura. In reality, Shizune gave Sakura this task she could have easily done to hopefully take Sakura's mind off her master, if not for a little while.

"Of course." Sakura nodded. She took the items handed to her and with one last look at the Fifth Hokage, she went on her way. There were quite a few items on the list that were scattered around the village. She noticed Shizune only wrote down the missing herbs that were retrievable. Since with the village destroyed, it would be pointless to write down the missing ones that couldn't be found. Sakura decided to start her gathering mission at the graveyard where she was closest to. There were some flowers that grew there that helped with sprained limbs.

* * *

Minato opened his eyes. Kushina opened her eyes. Why were they opening their eyes? Weren't they supposed to have died? Minato looked down at his stomach. Kushina looked down at her stomach. Weren't they supposed to have a big hole there? Minato looked at Kushina. Kushina looked Minato. This isn't what they were wearing when they supposedly died. These were the clothes one wore when one was about to be buried. "Minato, are we alive?"

"Seems to be that way." Minato replied to his wife, just as confused as she was. The two intertwined their hands. "What do you say we find out what's happening?"

"I say that's a great idea." Kushina said. The couple started walking to the exit of the graveyard. This didn't last very long though. They took no more than eight steps when they were stopped by a girl with pink hair and a kunai in her hand.

"Who are you and where did you come from? You better not lie to me or else you'll face serious consequences."

Minato gave a sheepish look and held his hands up in surrender, Kushina following suit. "We're just as confused as you are. We're from here in Konoha but last I checked we're supposed to be dead. May we speak with your current Hokage?" He asked politely, making sure to keep the young Shinobi calm.

The pink haired girl pondered this before simply stating, "Fine."

* * *

Sakura walked with the two strangers in front of her, never lowering her guard. She wasn't about to tell them the Hokage was in a coma so she decided to take them to Kakashi Sensei instead, he'd know what to do.

Sakura decided to take the long route back. She wanted to avoid as much people as possible and not draw attention to the two strangers she had found at the graveyard.

As they neared the village, Sakura noticed the look on the two strangers' faces turn into one of pure horror. Destruction was everywhere and there was a huge crater in the middle of the village. "What happened here?" The man asked.

"We were under attack by a villain called Pain. Naruto defeated him and saved everyone." Sakura had no reason to lie. The rest of the great nations were going to find out eventually. She almost ran straight into the two strangers as they had stopped in their tracks. "What gives?" She snapped.

"Who did you say saved the village?" The woman asked.

This confused Sakura. They looked like they had just been told their long lost child was alive. Little did Sakura know, it wasn't that far from the truth. "Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. Konoha's number one most unpredictable ninja." Much to Sakura's even greater confusion, the couple started to laugh. "Am I missing something?" Sakura asked.

"All in due time." The man said with a proud smile on his face. He and the woman regained their composure.

"Right." Sakura said. "Well why don't we continue walking?"

* * *

Kakashi was still guarding the tent, eyes fixated on his book when he heard three pairs of feet coming toward him. He expected them to pass by him but when they didn't, without even looking up from his book he said, "No one is to enter this tent."

"Kakashi? Is that you?"

Kakashi's heart stopped and his one visible eye widened. Is that who he thinks it is? Kakashi slowly lifted his head and made eye contact with the last person in the world he'd think he'd see again. "Sen… sei?" It took everything for his voice not to crack.

"Kakashi sensei, do you know these people? I found them by the graveyard while collecting herbs." Sakura asked, worried about the look she'd never seen him give before.

Kakashi barely heard what his student had asked him. His head turned to the woman. "Kushina Sama?"

Kushina smiled. "Judging by the monument, it doesn't look like this young lady took us to the Hokage as promised." The comment was light hearted but Sakura couldn't help but cringe a bit at it.

Kakashi put his book away and looked at the tent behind him then back to his two precious people, all the while saying, "She's in a coma… How are you two alive?" The first part was mumbled as if unimportant while the second spoken clearly.

"We have no idea. We woke up at the graveyard and ran into this young lady there." Minato said.

"Haruno Sakura." She introduced. "Who are you?" She asked not unkindly.

"Sakura, may I introduce my sensei and Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato and his no less amazing wife, Uzumaki Kushina."

It took Sakura a moment to register the information given to her but when it did, she covered her mouth and pointed to them with her other hand. "Uzumaki… Are you two… Naruto's parents?"


	2. Chapter 2

Minato smiled and waved. "It's nice to meet you, how do you know Naruto?"

"He's my friend… We're both on the same team together." Sakura, for the most part, mumbled this. She was in a bit of shock still and looked over at Kakashi for help.

Kakashi, who was good at controlling his emotions, refrained from crying out of sheer joy, smiled and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Would you mind standing guard? Make sure no one enters this tent. I think it's time they see their son." Kakashi turned toward the tent then stopped when an after-thought occurred to him. "Oh, and make sure this stays between us, alright?"

"Got it." Sakura nodded. As she went to stand guard, a chuckle escaped her lips. "It looks like Naruto's good deeds didn't go unrewarded."

* * *

Kakashi brought Minato and Kushina into the tent where the only occupant was Naruto. He was sleeping silently on a bed, his mouth slightly ajar as he breathed evenly. Kushina pointed at him in confirmation to which Kakashi nodded. Kushina and Minato took two chairs and sat by his side, Kakashi sitting on the other side.

Kakashi didn't say anything as he let the two parents see their son all grown up. Until eventually Minato asked the question, "How old is he?"

"Sixteen." Kakashi responded. Looking just as fondly at his student. "I'm pretty sure he already met you, Minato."

Minato already knew what Kakashi was talking about. "How did it happen?"

"The man he was fighting, Pain, tricked him into thinking he killed one of his friends right before his very eyes. Apparently he got to all nine tails before he was able to suppress it." Kakashi informed. "You should be proud of him and I'm sure you are. He saved everyone, even me. He's grown into a fine Shinobi."

It was at this moment that Naruto started stirring. Kushina gasped and grabbed onto her husband's arm, she was about to meet her son. Naruto slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry but that was nothing a little blinking couldn't fix. When he regained his vision, he saw his sensei next to him. "Kakashi… Sensei?" He mumbled.

"Naruto?" Naruto turned his head to the voice of a woman he'd never heard before. His heart stopped.

"Dad?"

Minato smiled and gestured to the woman next to him. "If I'm your dad, then do you know who this is?"

Naruto turned his head to the woman with the beautiful red hair. He didn't respond at first. He knew exactly who this would then be and he wanted to take in every feature of her. When his eyes landed on her smile, her kind, motherly smile that could light up any room, his bottom lip started to quiver. "Mom." He said.

"It's nice to finally meet you, ya know?" Kushina said, running her fingers through her son's hair.

Naruto chuckled. "Ya know… Now I know where I got that from."

Kakashi, who felt as though he was now intruding on a private moment, got up from his chair. "I'll leave you three to catch up." Without waiting for a response, he took his leave.

The family of three watched Kakashi walk out before returning back to each other. It was as though every question Naruto had ever wanted to ask his parents slipped his mind and all he could do was stare at their faces and hope this moment never ends.

Minato smiled at the infatuated look on his son's face. "So," He waited until Naruto looked at him. "I heard that saved the entire village."

Naruto smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I did. But you were a big help in it too."

"What did I do?" Minato asked. The answer that Naruto gave was not the one he was expecting.

"If you never invented the Rasengan then I would never have perfected it, and I don't know what I would've used in its place." Naruto smiled.

Kushina and Minato laughed, knowing this was Naruto's subtle way of boasting about perfecting his father's incomplete jutsu. Never the less, they were very impressed.

"You combined a nature element to it?" Minato asked with pride in his voice.

Naruto nodded. "Apparently I have wind chakra. But I can only use it in sennin mode or else it'll severely injure me, I learned that the hard way."

"So I see Jiraiya got around to teaching you. Is he here?" Kushina asked. Minato and her were surprised, Sennin mode. Just how strong was their son? They couldn't wait to see. Her smile disappeared when Naruto's disappeared.

"Before I fought Pain, Ero Sennin did when he went to the Village Hidden in Rain. He never made it back. He did leave behind a clue though and that's how I managed to defeat Pain." Naruto informed with a mix of sadness and pride for his master.

A few different emotions ran through the minds of Kushina and Minato when they heard what their son had just told them. First was sadness for their dear friend whom they just learned passed away, then there was a mix of surprise, shock and pride for the fact that there son had surpassed one of the legendary sannin. They were pulled out of their thoughts as Naruto continued speaking, his cheery demeanor there once more.

"Wait'll I introduce you to my friends, and also Iruka sensei, they'll be so excited to meet you, ya know!" Naruto sat up, only to grab his stomach and wince in pain. "I guess I'm not totally recovered yet. I could go for some food. It's been a while since I've eaten and the only thing I've been eating are bugs since I've been at Mount Myoboku. You guys are probably hungry too, considering you haven't eaten in sixteen ye-" Naruto's excited chattering ceased abruptly and a haunting frown appeared on his face. Naruto looked down at his lap. He didn't want his parents to see the tears well up in his eyes. He tried desperately to wipe them away.

"Naruto." Kushina said, placing a hand on her son's shoulder. Naruto didn't look up. "Naruto." She repeated. This time he did look up. What she saw broke her heart. Those old eyes shouldn't belong to someone so young.

"I was so alone." Naruto whispered. "No one wanted to be around me. No one wanted to play with me, or eat with me, or even talk to me and for the first twelve years of my life I had no idea why." Naruto's voice cracked at the end of the sentence. "And when I finally found out, it was only by chance. They weren't supposed to tell me in the first place."

Minato and Kushina watched as their son desperately tried to regain his composure. Wiping his eyes though the tears kept falling. "I shouldn't be sad anymore though." Naruto said, still wiping his eyes. "Because I have people I care for who also care for me now. All of that bad is in the past."

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Minato spoke.

Naruto looked up at his father incredulously. "Why are you sorry? There's nothing to be sorry about."

"There is." Minato stated. "I'm the one who put this burden on you."

Naruto shook his head stubbornly. "You did what you thought was right. That's nothing to be sorry for, ya know!" The tears finally stopped and Naruto managed to finally wipe the rest away.

It was then that Minato realized Naruto took after his mother in the stubbornness factor and there was no way he was going to win this argument. So instead Minato shook his head, smiled and said, "Okay."

Naruto's eyes grew heavy all of the sudden. He was still exhausted from his fight with Pain and the only reason he was awake right now was the adrenaline boost he got from seeing his parents alive. That was wearing off now but he didn't want to go to sleep yet, he wanted to keep talking to his parents, to keep seeing their faces.

"Go to sleep, Naruto. I promise we'll be here when you wake up." Kushina said, again running her fingers soothingly through her son's golden hair. That was all the confirmation Naruto needed as he finally let sleep grab ahold of him once more.


	3. Chapter 3

Kakashi exited the tent, letting the family of three have their moment. Sakura was still standing outside, a mix of emotions playing on her face but mostly a smile tugging at her lips. "Sakura." Sakura turned serious and looked at her sensei. "Will you go get Iruka, Yamato, Gai, and Kurenai for me? Tell them to come here. Please return with them."

"Of course." Sakura replied then headed off. Kakashi stood guard at the tent once more, waiting for Sakura to return with the requested people. If Kakashi was one thing, it was patient, so he waited as long as it took.

At one point a child with a box of rice balls came by. "May I have three?" Kakashi asked politely to the young boy no more than five years of age.

"Only one per person." The young boy said.

"I have a couple of friends in there who need food too." Kakashi informed, kneeling down to the relative height of the child and pointing a thumb at the tent behind him. The child agreed and gave Kakashi three rice balls then walked away to feed other people.

Kakashi entered the tent where he found Naruto asleep once more and the parents chatting amongst themselves. He set the rice balls on the table next to them. "Those are for you two and Naruto when he wakes up, I better head back out until Sakura arrives with the people I requested."

"Have you eaten, Kakashi? If you're still the way you were, I remember you putting yourself last." Minato informed with a knowing smile on his face.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish expression but avoided answering the question when a passionate cry erupted from the entrance of the tent. "Kakashi, my eternal rival, what bothers you in your time of youth!" Gai and the others Kakashi asked for entered the tent.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't yell while my son is resting, ya know." Kushina demanded with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

Minato laughed, "Looks like you haven't changed much, Gai."

The eyes of the four who entered the tent went to the two who were sitting next to Naruto. Their faces went stone white. "How?" Kurenai asked.

Minato shrugged simply. "I don't know either."

"I expect we'll know more once Naruto wakes up and explains what happened in his battle, but it must be the same thing that resurrected me and the other villagers who died during the battle." Kakashi explained. He looked to the entrance, "Is Sakura guarding the door?"

"Yes." Replied Yamato.

"Good." Kakashi said. "Why don't we get down to business then, there's a few things that need to be spoken about." They all took a seat at the table that was a little far off from where Naruto was laying. All except Kushina, who refused to leave Naruto's side for understandable reasons.

"Well, not knowing where to start since there is so much, I think I should start off by informing Yamato the necklace broke upon Naruto reaching the sixth tail so we have no way of suppressing the kyuubi should it rampage again." Kakashi explained.

"That's a big problem." Yamato said, that is, until Kushina started laughing.

"Don't underestimate the sealing justu of the Uzumaki clan. If he goes on a rampage leave it to me." Kushina stated proudly, still looking at her son fondly, his hand in between both of hers. Iruka couldn't help but smile. Naruto really did look a lot like his mother, except for the hair, and he could tell that they are going to get along quite well.

The rest of the conversation consisted of how they were going to tell the rest of the public the Fourth Hokage and the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero were alive and how Minato would take over as Hokage once more until Tsunade woke up from her coma. At some point or another Kushina had eaten her rice ball and at some other point or another Minato had eaten his. Everyone was mostly waiting for Naruto to wake up at this point to tell what had happened during the battle. Eventually, he did.

Naruto opened his very blue eyes expecting disappointment but when he felt someone holding his hand and saw his mother's face still next to him, he smiled contently. "It wasn't a dream." He mumbled.

"Of course it wasn't. I promised I'd be by your side when you woke up didn't I?" This motherly instinct came naturally to Kushina despite being a mother for technically only a few hours.

Naruto sat up in bed and it was then that he noticed the rest of the people there. He yelled. "Were you all watching me sleep!"

Minato laughed. Yup just like his mother. "Well we had to wait for you to wake up so you can recount your battle to us, so we have a better idea as to what happened." Kurenai said.

Naruto slumped. That would take forever. That battle was long and exhausting and now he had to go through the entire thing again in detail. Iruka noticed this. "I'll buy you as much Ichiraku as you want in return." He bribed.

Naruto crossed his arms and shook his head. "It was destroyed." He grumbled but with a deep sigh he gave in and recounted his tale anyway. Eventually he got to the part with Hinata. "She ran out and started to fight even though she didn't stand a chance. Still have no idea why she did it." The adults smiled knowingly as Naruto was too thick to realize this girl was head over heels for him. "Anyway, I thought she… he made it look like… At that point I lost control. I don't remember much, mostly just red and rage." Naruto finished recounting his tale and finished it with Kakashi finding him right on the verge of passing out in the forest.

At some point during his story he had eaten the rice ball but when the story was done, he found himself hungry once again. "Why don't we go to the dining hall and get some food, besides, everyone is expecting to see the village hero." Kakashi suggested with a smile. Naruto nodded. Anything for food.

Naruto didn't leave his parents' side all the way there. "Wait until I introduce you to my friends, they'll be so surprised… Well I'm sure everyone will be surprised to see you… Well, that is, mostly the older generations at least since no one who didn't know it already were allowed to be told who my parents were." Naruto was rambling at this point. He was so happy and so excited he didn't know what to do with his energy.

When they got to the dining area, Naruto started to feel a bit nervous. He knew when he walked in, all eyes would be on him and he didn't know if he was ready for that yet. He didn't have much time to ponder as Sakura opened the curtain and shoved him in. All chattering ceased. All eyes went to him. "It's Naruto!" He heard Bushy-Brows call from somewhere to his right. That was when everyone stood up and started clapping and cheering. He still wasn't quite used to this yet. He smiled sheepishly not quite knowing how to react and forgetting how he reacted the first time. The rest of the people he was with came into the tent one by one after him until eventually it was his parents' turn.

When Minato and Kushina entered the tent all clapping stopped, the younger ones, who had no idea who these two strangers were, only stopped clapping because the older folks did. They had no idea what was going on.

When Naruto's initial shock subsided, he smiled and spread his arms out, gesturing to his parents behind him. "What is everyone doing? Why don't we give them a big welcome back to Konoha!" The silence lasted a good five more seconds before one person, somewhere in the back, started clapping. Slowly more and more joined until cheering was once more heard throughout the dining tent. Naruto and his group headed to where the rest of his friends and their parents were sitting.

Sakura sat down next to her parents and Naruto sat down next to her. He didn't say anything as he grabbed a bowl and filled it with the soup that was at the table. His friends stared at him. Naruto was about to take a bite when he saw Hinata sitting on the opposite side of him, a few seats down. "Oh, Hinata, I never got to thank you. You really helped me. Are you alright?"

Hinata's face turned red and she ducked her head a bit. She only managed to stutter out a few syllables though because Kiba butted in and yelled, "So are you going to introduce us to those people or are you going to just leave us in the dark?"

Naruto looked over at Kiba, at his parents, then back at him. He noticed all his friends were staring at him just as expectantly as Kiba. "Right! I was so hungry I forgot."

"Likely story." Kiba muttered.

Naruto grinned and gestured to his father, "This is the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato and," He gestured to his mother. "The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, Uzumaki Kushina. They're my parents."

Everyone's awe-filled eyes didn't last for long as Naruto was promptly hit across the head by his mother's fist. "Who said I let you use that nickname? No one, ya know!"

Naruto grabbed his head in pain. "I'm sorry!" He managed out.

Minato, on the other hand, politely waved his hand. "It's nice to meet you. Are you all Naruto's friends?"

Kushina regained her composure with this question. She looked around at all the young faces staring back at her. "It's so nice that Naruto has made so many friends. This is beyond what I was expecting."

Lee, who much like Gai, was trying to refrain from crying, jumped out of his seat and bowed. "It's a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet the two who saved the village from the evil Kyuubi!" He took one glance at Naruto then realized his mistake. He bowed even lower. "I'm terribly sorry! That didn't come out right! I meant it's an honor to meet- oof!" Ten Ten had pulled Lee back to his seat and stabbed a kunai through his sleeve and onto the table, where he struggled to get it out.

"I'm sorry, he's kind of an idiot." Ten Ten waved off.

Kakashi leaned over and whispered to the slightly confused Minato, "He takes after Gai." Minato nodded understandably.

Kushina, on the other hand, held up her fist as her hair floated menacingly. "Something wrong with the Kyuubi?"

Lee yelped and hid behind Neji who, though he didn't show it, was just as frightened as Lee. Naruto chuckled and placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Mom. It's fine. Lee means well." Lee relaxed considerably until, "But I bet kyuubi has been wondering what he tastes like." Lee immediately got up, sleeve tearing from the kunai still there, and ran out the dining hall. Once Lee was completely gone, Kushina and Naruto started to laugh out loud. "The look on his face was priceless, ya know!" Kushina, who was laughing too hard to talk, only nodded in agreement.

Beads of sweat fell down the heads of Naruto's friends. "There's two of them." Mumbled Ino.

"This is gonna take some getting used to." Said Shikamaru.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the dinner went by without much interruption. Minato and Kushina caught up with old friends and Naruto talked amongst his friends. Though what only Naruto noticed as he kept glancing at his mother, was that she had a distracted look on her face. Eventually Naruto had to bring it up, he stopped mid conversation with Choji and asked, "Mom, is something bothering you?"

Kushina ceased with looking around the room to turn her attention to her son, all eyes were on her. "I'm looking for someone by the name of Uchiha Mikoto. She has a son your age, Uchiha Sasuke, do you know him?" She asked innocently.

"Here we go." Kakashi said.

Naruto and Sakura's entire demeanor changed and it seemed like a gloom appeared over them. Their faces held sadness and longing, Naruto's had something extra. Guilt, Minato noted. Kakashi leaned over to the Unpredictable Ninja's parents and whispered, "Sasuke is kind of a sore spot with those two." Naruto's parents looked from Kakashi to Naruto and Sakura, back to Kakashi.

"Did he pass away?" Kushina asked Kakashi sadly.

"If only it was that sim-"

"He left. But I'm going to bring him back if it's the last thing I do." Naruto interrupted passionately with a fist raised.

"Make that two of us." Sakura added just as passionately, her fist raised as well.

Minato and Kushina were just a little bit confused but were knocked out of their stupor when Neji began to speak to them. "Uchiha Mikoto is dead. She, along with the rest of the Uchiha clan was murdered by her son, Itachi. Sasuke was the only survivor. In revenge on his brother, Sasuke betrayed the village and left to train with Orochimaru when the opportunity was given to him, in hopes to get stronger to one day kill Itachi. A team that consisted of Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and me were sent to retrieve him. We were picked off one by one by shinobi guarding Sasuke. Eventually it was just Sasuke and Naruto, and a battle broke out. Naruto lost and even though Sasuke was trying to kill him the entire time, he spared Naruto's life. That was three years ago."

When Neji finished recounting what had happened, Kushina and Minato had no idea what to do with this information. They both looked at Naruto who had a frustrated look on his face as he stared down at the bowl of soup in front of him. "I'm going to get some air." He grumbled before standing up and walking out of the tent.

Minato and Kushina watched as Naruto left the tent and kept watching after he was gone. Only did they turn back when they heard Sakura speak. "We were all on team seven together. Sasuke is a precious person to both of us." She had a sad smile on her face. "He just lost his way." Sakura looked to where Naruto had walked out. "Naruto promised to bring Sasuke back that day. But he failed. He broke his promise; went back on his word. Naruto never goes back on his word, that's his Way of Ninja. I know he still beats himself up all these years later, I do too. I saw Sasuke leaving the village and I couldn't talk him out of it, he hit my shoulder and left me unconscious." Sakura frowned, "I suppose there was nothing we could have done." The frown turned to a stern, determined look. "But that doesn't mean we are going to give up, especially Naruto, he's the most determined person I've ever met."

* * *

Naruto walked through Konoha, looking up at the night sky with his hands in his pockets. Just as he did often, he wondered what Sasuke was up to. He thought back to the time, not too far away, when he and Sakura finally found Sasuke. His entire demeanor had changed, but he was still Sasuke.

Naruto had eventually ended up at the carvings of all the past Hokage. He walked up the stairs and settled on the Third's carving, laying on his back with his hands behind his head, looking at the stars.

Though Naruto hated being alone, as that's how he spent most his life, he was content right now. On top of a battle that almost cost him his life and the people of the village hoarding him, it was nice to have some alone time, if not for a while. Naruto wondered what his parents thought of him. This is their first time meeting him when he actually had a personality and not just a new face. He, on the other hand, loved his parents. They were amazing and he couldn't have asked for better, even if his mom did scare him a little bit. He figured all moms were like that though.

Naruto heard footsteps approaching him but he didn't look up to see who it was. He already knew who it was. "Naruto." His mother said.

"Great first impression, huh?" Naruto spoke. "I swear I'm not like this all the time."

"You've just got out of battle, I'd imagine your brain is still foggy." Minato provided. He and Kushina walked over to Naruto and sat on either side of him.

"There was a point where I thought I was gonna lose, ya know. He threw me onto my stomach. A metal rod was stuck through both my hands, one for each of my shoulders, two in my back and one behind each knee." He paused at the memory. "The weird thing is, it only hurt for the time I was actually being impaled. Maybe I just don't remember or maybe I was too out of it at the time but when they were there I didn't feel anything."

Then Hinata came out, I still don't understand why, but she was brave." Naruto frowned as a thought only just occurred to him. "Since she was alive, she saw me lose control. I wonder if she's scared of me. I hope you two never have to see me like that." Naruto stopped speaking for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I guess I want to just tell you both everything."

"Your friend, Sakura said that Sasuke is a precious person to the both of you, why don't you tell us why he's so special to you." Minato suggested.

Naruto let out a small chuckle at Sakura's choice of words, even though they were none-the-less true. "Because no one paid me any mind. They'd do their best to ignore me and tell their children to ignore me, to not talk to me. Sasuke was the first person to acknowledge me." Naruto gave no further explanation but that was all they needed to hear.

"Sounds good to me, ya know!" Kushina said cheerfully. Minato nodded in agreement and the two parents lie down in the same position as their son and watched the sky.

It was a few minutes later that Naruto cracked a smile and said, "Hey, dad. I told myself if I ever met you alive, there's something I would ask you."

Minato looked from the sky to his son. "Oh?"

"Will you battle me?"

It was an odd yet perfectly reasonable question. What son wouldn't want to have a battle with their dad to see who will win? Frankly, Minato wanted to battle his son as well; see how strong he has become. "Sure."


	5. Chapter 5

At some point or another, a few hours later, the family of three made their way back to the village, Naruto gabbing along the entire way. "Wait until Ichiraku Ramen is rebuilt, you won't find better ramen anywhere else!" Minato and Kushina smiled and nodded to their excited son's rambling. They didn't have the heart to tell him that Ichiraku was still there when they were alive.

Their son really turned out to be something else. They had a feeling he'd do great things but this was beyond their expectations, and he was so humble about it too. He didn't take the fame for granted, on the contrary, it actually seemed like he wished it was toned down a bit. He was so hyper and full of life but at the same time he was very complex and knew when he needed to be serious. He acted so young but when you look into his eyes you saw someone who is hundreds of years old. They couldn't have asked for a better son and they loved him with all their heart.

* * *

It was late and large tents were set up, filled with cots for the villagers to sleep on. Naruto and his parents were in the corner, exchanging stories from their past. "We ran into one of the Seven Swordsmen, Zabuza." Naruto was saying.

Sakura had volunteered to pass out blankets to everyone and as she neared Naruto she over-heard him talking. "Are you talking about our mission to the Land of Waves?" She asked, passing blankets to his parents then to him.

Naruto nodded with his usual smile as he took the blanket. "I was just getting to the part where Kakashi Sensei was about to fight Zabuza."

Sakura smirked. "That far already, huh? So I assume you told them about the part where you stabbed yourself in the hand." To her amusement, she saw Naruto's cheeks visibly redden.

"Sakura-Chan," Said Naruto embarrassed. "You didn't need to mention that part."

Naruto's parents began to laugh, as did Sakura. "Well I've got to deliver these blankets to the rest of the villagers, later." With an amused look on Sakura's face she left the small family.

Naruto finished the story, after explaining to his curious parents why he stabbed his hand of course. The overall atmosphere of the entire tent and all the people was happy. Everyone was talking amongst themselves, telling stories, jokes or just chatting about whatever came to mind. Eventually though, when it became very late, a Jounin in charge called for lights out.

All the cots were the size for one person so Kushina and Minato, likes many of the other couples, had their cots pushed together. Naruto's was beside them and before his head hit the pillow he was already asleep. The two parents smiled fondly, they knew he was exhausted. They saw the dark circles were heavy under his eyes and he kept yawning as he was talking. All in all, they were happy to alive once more.

* * *

No one was woken up the next day. They were allowed to wake up on their own accord. Minato had woken up first out of the family of three, Kushina woke up just minutes after him. "It's still so weird to be alive again, ya know?" Kushina whispered. "Especially seeing Naruto all grown up like this." Minato nodded in agreement and the two parents looked at their sleeping child. Instead of seeing him sleeping peacefully, Naruto was fussing in his sleep. His bangs clung to his head in a cold sweat and he had a disgruntled look on his face. They waited a few beats in hopes that he'd wake up. He did. Naruto awoke with a small yelp and what concerned his parents was when Naruto opened his eyes, they were the Kyuubi's eyes, but a few seconds later when Naruto realized he was awake, they went back to the blue that matched his father's. The couple decided not to approach Naruto about this as he probably didn't even realize he did it.

Naruto sat up in his bed a bit dazed, he put a hand on his head. "Everything okay, Naruto?" Kushina asked.

"You were fussing in your sleep." Minato said. Naruto looked over to see his parents awake and sitting up as well, faces curious and concerned.

"I was," On a rampage. Destroying everything in sight, everyone in sight. "I forgot." He planted a large smile on his face. "Well whatever it was, it's over now. We should get ready for the day." He stood up and that was when he noticed his clothes, along with everyone else's clothes, had been recovered and returned to their respectful owner. His parents, on the other hand, had new clothes in front of their beds. "Looks like you guys can stop wearing those funeral clothes now." He pointed at the clothes in front of his parent's beds.

"Good. I'm tired of wearing these depressing things." Kushina commented. Naruto put his shoes on and grabbed a change of clothes, before leaving the tent to go to the bath house.

"Did you notice it too?" Minato asked.

"Of course I did, ya know." Kushina snapped. They both knew Naruto didn't forget the nightmare he had had, and the way he smiled was just a cover up to how he was actually feeling. The worst part was that his fake smile looked so close to his real smile that, had it not been parent's intuition, they wouldn't have noticed the difference. The two got up and grabbed clothes to head to the bath house as well.

* * *

It was well in the afternoon and everyone was awake by now, all helping to rebuild Konoha. Naruto and his parents, along with team Ten and team Gai, were apart of cutting planks of wood to rebuild their assigned section of houses. Everyone was having friendly conversation when Kakashi had approached them. All went silent as he whispered something in Minato's ear. "Got it." Minato nodded. He turned to his family, "I'll be back, there's something that needs to be taken care of." He disappeared along with Kakashi.

"They're probably going to reappoint him Hokage." Said Naruto, turning back to his work with an excited grin on his face.

* * *

Naruto was right. By the time the meeting was over, Minato was reinstated as Hokage. The terms were he would be Hokage until Tsunade woke up, if she woke up, and they would have a conversation to see who would take full control.

When the meeting took place, Minato quickly realized Danzo was someone to watch out for. Something was very off about him that he didn't like. He knew, for his safety and the safety of those he cared for, he had to watch out for the man.

When Minato arrived back to his work sight, he saw everyone was on break, eating lunch. "Oi!" Naruto called out, waving his hand when he saw his father approaching. "We saved some for you!" The food in question that was saved was a plate of pork buns. He smiled and walked over to sit with them. "So," Naruto started with an excited smile. "Did they reinstated you as Hokage?" This was information that could not be divulged yet so Minato only smirked and went to eating his pork bun.

The other two teams watched the encounter in awe. Though, yes, they have seen Naruto happy, this was a different kind of happiness and Naruto's smile, they never realized it didn't until now, reached his eyes. He was absolutely beaming and they wouldn't be surprised if he spontaneously combusted from all the excitement he was obviously holding down. This was an encounter they were happy to be a part of. But it was about to be over in a moment.

"Fine, don't tell me." Naruto said in mock pout. That is, until he felt a hand upside his head.

"Just because he's your father, doesn't mean he can tell you everything, just like he can't tell me everything either, ya know. Haven't you heard of top secret?" Kushina bellowed. She loved him but it was at this moment that she realized he had gotten her smarts, most of her personality frankly.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Of course I know the meaning of top secret. I, out of anyone, knows the true meaning of top secret!" He yelled back. Yelled? Why did he yell at his mother? He knew she yelled at him first but he knew she wasn't actually angry at him. His yelling was anger though. He shouldn't be feeling angry. "Sorry." He said, letting the scowl slip off his face.

There was a few beats of silence before Minato suggested, "I think it's a good time to get back to work."

* * *

It was later in the day, during dinner in fact, that it was announced that Minato would be reinstated as Hokage. The terms to his reinstatement were explained and though Tsunade was missed, they still cheered for Minato because those who were alive at the time of his rule knew he was a great Hokage.

After the cheering died down Minato went to go sit with his family. Naruto sat between his two parents and since the incident earlier that day, he has since cheered up. Naruto ate his dinner while conversing with Lee who was explaining the Eight Inner Gates in better detail. Naruto (being Naruto) didn't really understand any of it so he resorted to nodding at parts he thought may be important. Kushina, who was listening in while she waiting for Minato to sit back down, was doing the same thing as Naruto. Even though she didn't understand much of it, she still grasped on to more of it than her son did.

Sakura sat down the same time Minato did. She had been with Tsunade most of the day and she looked worn out. But even with dark circles that were beginning to form under her eyes, she looked at Naruto with concern. It took Naruto about a minute to realize she was staring at him. "Everything alright, Sakura-Chan?"

Sakura stared at his face for a moment longer. "Are you okay?" Earlier that day Ino had come to visit Sakura and she had told her about that out of character burst of anger Naruto had.

Naruto, on the other hand, was getting a bit unsettled by that examining look Sakura was giving him. "I'm fine," He said a bit confused why Sakura was acting like this. "Should there be something wrong with me?"

Sakura studied him for a moment longer before finally shrugging it off. "I guess not." She concluded, saying it in almost a nonchalant manner then went to filling her plate with food. Weirded out a bit by Sakura's odd behavior, Naruto eventually went back to his conversation with Lee.

* * *

Lights out was earlier that night, mostly due to the fact that people were falling asleep pretty early on their own, Naruto being one of those people. Minato and Kushina were conversing, much like the rest of the people who were still awake. "Should we be worried?" She asked. "We haven't known him for a while but judging by the reactions of his friends, the way he's acting isn't normal, ya know?"

Minato had nod in agreement. "I've noticed that too. I say we give it a few more days and see what happens, if he's still acting odd we'll confront him."

"Sounds like a plan." Kushina nodded. That was about the time the Jounin came to say the official lights out even though only about a fourth of the people were still awake.

* * *

It was late, perhaps two or three in the morning. A figure entered the tents of sleeping villagers and crept silently to the back corner where the Yellow Flash slept silently. Once he approached, he pulled a kunai out of his sleeve and held it over Minato's throat.

However before he could finish the deed, a hand grabbed onto Danzo's wrist. "Lay a finger on him or anyone else I care about and I will kill you." Naruto's voice was low and menacing. His eyes slitted and red, glowing in the darkness. Danzo ripped his arm away from the clawed hand that was digging into his skin and hurried out of the tent, leaving the demon vessel behind and Minato unscathed.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto woke up late that day. Very late. He had an odd dream last night. Was it a dream? It seemed so real. Danzo was there and Naruto was angry. Why would Danzo be there? It must have been a dream, Naruto concluded.

When Naruto sat up in bed he noticed he was one of seven other people that were still there. He began to panic. Why did he wake up so late? Why didn't anyone wake him up? Seeing as there was only guys left in the tent, he hurriedly changed there and ran out as fast as he could to his work sight.

In Naruto's hurry to get to where he needed to go, it didn't strike him odd when he saw Danzo staring at him as he ran by. Their eyes locked for a brief moment only to be ripped away as Naruto continued to run.

"What took so long? You should have been here hours ago." Ten Ten commented irritably when Naruto showed up.

"Sorry." Naruto said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I overslept. I promise it won't happen again."

"Likely story." Neji muttered under his breath as he sat a beam upright to be hammered into the ground. Naruto shot him a look but grabbed a hammer to start helping. The day before, they had finished cutting all the wood they needed so now they were starting on the first house.

* * *

A couple hours had passed, no more than two, when it was time for lunch. The group walked away but Naruto had stayed behind. "Aren't you coming?" Choji asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I'll stay here and work since I was late. I'm not that hungry anyway."

"Suit yourself." Shikamaru said. The group turned and proceeded to the dining hall once more.

Naruto returned to working on the house. He was, actually, really late and he wanted to get a good amount of work done since he felt a bit guilty that they had to pull extra weight since he wasn't there.

As Naruto worked, his thoughts drifted to the odd dream he had last night. He couldn't for the life of him remember more than Danzo's face and an unyielding anger. He wondered what Danzo had done in his dream, not that he wasn't a prick in real life, which made him so angry. Naruto let those thoughts occupy his mind as he worked.

"Naruto!" He heard a newly familiar voice call. Naruto looked up and saw his parents walking toward him, his mother had a plate of food in her hand. "We had a feeling you were just guilty for showing up late. Take a break and eat something." His father said, sitting to the right of him while his mother, the left. Naruto sat down with them.

"We've been worried about you. You've been acting odd, ya k-" It happened in a flash. A shinobi in a mask snuck up behind them and stabbed Minato and Kushina in the back, disappearing before you could even count how many stripes were on said mask. Naruto's parents fell forward and onto the ground.

"NO!" Naruto yelled standing abruptly, food falling from his lap. He was stuck in place as his mind contemplated going after the bad guy or running to the aid of his parents. The bad guy disappearing was what made up Naruto's mind and he knelt down beside his parents. "Don't be dead. I just met you guys, there's still so much to talk about. Dad, we were supposed to battle, remember? Mom, I wanted to ask how you and Dad fell in love. Please don't be dead. PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD!" Red chakra started to leak from Naruto, taking the form of the kyuubi. "I'll kill whoever did this. I'LL KILL THEM!" Two tails, three, four. It happened so fast that it could've beaten any record of times before.

Naruto was on all fours with a snarl as his skin started to peel to show the red underneath and when his appearance changed to that of the day he had accidently hurt Sakura, he let out a blood curdling roar.

* * *

"I wonder if Naruto is going to show up to eat." Ino asked offhandedly.

"I don't know, he seemed pretty adamant about-" Shikamaru didn't finish his sentence. Anyone who was in the dining hall didn't finish their sentence. All was silenced by that blood curdling roar. That so dreadfully familiar roar.

Kushina, Kakashi and Minato were the first ones up and out of the tent. Many soon followed suit. It was a horror show when they arrived. The house that had just started being built was destroyed, along with some nearby tents and trees. Naruto was on a rampage. Kakashi thought quickly. "Kushina, you bind him and I'll suppress it with this," He held up the slip of paper that said, "Suppress" on it that Jiraiya had given him. "Sakura, be on standby when it's over. He's going to be severely wounded and in need of immediate medical attention. Now!"

Kushina, Kakashi and Sakura sprang into action as the villagers who were brave enough to come, watched on in fear. "Naruto!" Kushina called to her rampaging son. Naruto looked over at her and immediately began to charge at her. Though he was fast, she was faster. The chains erupted from her body and wrapped around Naruto who fell to the ground, struggling to break free. Kakashi jumped from where he waiting, to in front of Naruto and stuck the seal onto his head. The kyuubi's power began to suppress immediately. Naruto yelled in pain as the cloak began to dissipate. The ears and the tail slowly disappeared, leaving behind a Naruto with red skin and white eyes. Sakura waited at his side until it was done.

Kushina let the chains disappear and she, along with her husband who was waiting for it to be over, ran to their son. Sakura had started to heal him instantly, and slowly but surely, it was disappearing but Sakura was still worried. "There's something wrong." She said.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura stared at Naruto's discontent face for a few seconds longer then stopped healing him. She placed two fingers on his forehead and said, "Release." Naruto's face relaxed and Sakura went back to healing him.

"He was under genjustu? But who would do that?" Kushina asked.

"I might know who did this but we can't talk about it here." Minato said. Once there were only small patches of red left on Naruto's skin, he was put on a stretcher and taken to the infirmary tent.

"There's nothing more to see!" Sakura snapped to the villagers, all of whom were still there, still staring.


	7. Chapter 7

"Genjustu?" Gai asked. Kakashi nodded. Naruto was in bed, still unconscious, most of him wrapped in gauze. At a nearby table were his parents, Kakashi, Yamato, Gai, Iruka and Kurenai. After Sakura had healed as much as she could, she was instructed to stand guard at the tent and was told she'd be called if there was any change to Naruto's condition.

"Who could've done this?" Iruka asked.

"I don't know one-hundred percent, but I have a theory." Minato said. The others compelled him to continue. "At the meeting to reinstate me as Hokage, there was one person who was adamant about him becoming Hokage and not me. Danzo. He struck me as someone who I should keep an eye on."

"You think he made Naruto rampage to make you look bad?" Kushina asked.

"That's exactly what I think." Minato replied.

"It would make sense." Kakashi commented. "Naruto is your son and if the villagers saw the Hokage's son like that, they may turn against you and force you out of power."

"I'm sorry I put that burden on you."

The seven adults turned around to see Naruto's eyes open. He tried to sit up, grabbed his stomach in pain then lay back down. "Don't apologize, this isn't your fault." Minato said. "I'm the one who sealed it inside you."

"Did I hurt anyone?" Asked Naruto fearfully.

"Just a bunch of trees and empty buildings." Iruka responded reassuringly. Naruto visibly relaxed. "What did you see in the genjutsu that made all of this happen?"

Naruto really, really didn't want to think about it again but he knew he had to tell what happened. "Mom and Dad came by with a plate of food since I stayed behind. They sat down on either side of me while I ate and then, and then," A haunting look crossed Naruto's eyes as he stopped talking. Everyone knew how this story was going to end.

"We died." Kushina stated.

Naruto stared at his lap and nodded. "A shinobi in a mask. It all happened so fast, there was no time to react." The adults looked on in pity. Those of them who have been under genjutsu know how horrifying it actually is. "I hope I didn't scare any of you. I wish you didn't have to see me like that." Above all else, Naruto's voice was tired. Even Kushina, who had the Kyuubi sealed inside her for many years, never had this happen to her so she had no idea how exhausting it really was to rampage like that.

"What may have _happened_ scared us but we're not afraid of you." Iruka said.

Naruto closed his eyes in exhaustion. "I'm glad." He fell asleep once more.

* * *

Naruto slept for three more hours before waking up again to find the adults still there, chatting amongst themselves. Naruto kept his eyes closed and listened on. "I'm more afraid of the villagers rejecting Naruto once more than me losing title as Hokage. I couldn't care less about that right now." Minato commented.

"I'm afraid too." Iruka agreed. "The things they did to him. Even when he could fight back, he didn't. I can't tell you how many times he showed up on my doorstep needing medical attention. He always refused to go to the hospital."

"Why would he never fight back?" Kushina demanded.

"He told me he didn't want to prove them right. They'd call him a monster and this was back when he didn't know the kyuubi was sealed inside him." Iruka responded resentfully.

Naruto opened his eyes and saw a look of unfathomable guilt on his father's face. He wished it wasn't there, his father only did what he thought was right. That was nothing to feel guilty over besides, Naruto doesn't resent having the kyuubi sealed in him, and it made him who he is today.

Naruto closed his eyes again to help him think. Danzo sabotaged him and made him go on a rampage in revenge of not being Hokage and in hopes that this will help his case to become Hokage. It makes sense considering he tried to kill Naruto's dad in his sleep.

Naruto's eyes shot open. That's the rest of the dream, except it wasn't a dream! Had Naruto not scared him away, he would have killed the Yellow Flash. "He tried to kill you, Dad!" Naruto blurted out. The adults turned to him like he was crazy. Just what was he talking about? "I thought it was a dream but it wasn't"

"What are you going on about?" Kakashi asked. Naruto proceeded to tell the happenings of the night before.

"A pissed off Naruto mixed with glowing kyuubi eyes in the middle of the night is enough to scare anyone away." Kurenai said.

"That's probably where he got the idea to make Naruto go on a rampage." Gai added.

"Were you already awake when he snuck in?" Yamato asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No, just a voice telling me I needed to wake up. I thought it was the kyuubi at first, since that's the only other voice in my head I hear, but then I realized he'd want dad to die so he could go on a rampage. That and he doesn't like dad very much. I think it was just a gut feeling, ya know?"

"I see." Said Yamato.

Though in pain, Naruto sat up and just as he did, his stomach growled. He laughed sheepishly, "Guess I haven't actually eaten anything yet today, huh? Maybe we could go to the food hall?"

"It should be around dinnertime right now," Kushina mumbled to herself then looked to her son. "But you need to rest."

"I'm fine." Naruto stated. He swung his feet onto the floor and stood up. "This has happened before and I've walked it off with less rest, less medical attention in fact. I'll be okay."

"If you insist." Kushina said. "But if something happens I reserve the right to say I told you so."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto replied, taking the bandages off his face before putting his shirt back on.

Naruto walked out of the tent to see Sakura standing just outside. "Sakura-Chan."

"Are you okay now? You really scared us." That was a horrible way to phrase it. "I mean we were worried about you. Lee came by multiple times, so did Hinata and the others came by a couple of times. They'll be so relieved to see you're fine."

Naruto smiled. "It's all thanks to Sakura-Chan and her awesome Medical Ninjutsu."

Sakura shook her head fondly. "Let's go." She, Naruto, and the others who were in the tent made their way to the dining hall. To be frank each of them, and though he didn't show it, Naruto, was worried about how the villagers were going to react. Naruto kept a relaxed face on, though in reality, he was the most frightened out of all of them. He really, really, really, didn't want things to go back to the way they were before. He worked so hard to get to where he is now and he doesn't want it to be in vain.

They got to the tent and with a deep breath, walked in. The second Naruto was noticed, all speaking ceased. As Naruto walked to his seat, people were staring and some were whispering. He stared straight ahead the entire time, never faltering and giving in to the temptation of looking to see the people staring at him. He sat with his parents and Sakura sat next to him with her parents.

Naruto was tense. Anyone who was actually looking would notice it too. All was silent as Naruto grabbed the ladle to the stew. Naruto was about to tip it over into his bowl when it happened, he felt something hit the back of his head. Someone had thrown a cup at him. _Fight back. Yell at them. Do SOMETHING, ya know!_ Kushina thought in her head. None of this happened. Naruto had frozen in surprise but for only a moment. He resumed pouring his food into his bowl, replaced the ladle then picked up his spoon.

Naruto picked up some of his stew with his spoon and began to blow on it to cool it down, all the while repeating the words in his head: _Do not prove them_ right _, do not prove them right._ Naruto put the spoon up to his mouth… Then stopped. Another cup hit his head.

Deeply repressed memories started to bubble up. Naruto calmly stood, grabbed his bowl then proceeded to walk out of the dining hall, three more cups hitting him on the way out.

Once he left, no one said anything. No one knew who should speak first, unluckily that decision was made for them by a certain resurrected mother. Kushina stood up. Her blood was boiling. "THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT HIM AFTER HE SAVED ALL OF YOUR LIVES?! YOU'RE SCUMMY PEOPLE, YA KNOW! HE DIDN'T HURT ANYONE AND WHAT HAPPENED WAS AN ACCIDENT, JUST IMAGINE HOW HE FEELS, YA KNOW! THE FIRST THING HE ASKED WHEN HE WOKE UP WAS IF HE HURT ANYONE, HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE VILLAGERS BEFORE HIMSELF, YA KNOW! YOU SHOULD ALL REEVALUATE YOUR LIVES IF THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT HIM, YA KNOW!" Kushina was absolutely seething with anger as she finally stomped out of the dining hall.

Her feet made their way back to the work site without even realizing it. She had the urge to punch a wall, scratch that, a person right now. More specifically, all the people who dare hurt her son. But for all the anger that she had, it all completely vanished when she saw Naruto sitting amongst the rubble, eating his stew alone. She made her way to him and sat down next to him. They sat in silence as Naruto continued eating. Only when he finished and set the bowl on the ground next to him, did Kushina speak up.

"All those people can go fall in a pit if they can't see you for who you are." She seethed.

Naruto, to her surprise, smiled. "Mom, that's not a nice thing to say."

"Huh?"

"They don't understand it, so they're afraid. I'm not upset about that nor am I about the fact that it can never be explained to them." Naruto's face was happy. "It's only natural to be afraid of something you don't understand, why do you think I'm afraid of ghosts or how Sakura-Chan is afraid of bugs? I'm not upset so don't be so grim, Mom." Kushina almost had to cry at the earnest in his voice, at the wise old soul in his voice. "I'm happy. They can't take that away from me anymore. I'm older, I know better now."

"Naruto." She sighed, hugging her son close to her. "I was so worried about you. I knew life was going to be unfair to you from that day forward and I wasn't going to be there to help you or say hello when you came home, or be there for your first day of school or graduation, or when you had a cold. You went through it all on your own and you didn't let it knock you down, you let it shape the wonderful person you are today and I couldn't be more proud, ya know."

Naruto chuckled as he leaned against his mother. "Ya know."

Kushina chuckled too. "I was hoping you wouldn't get that trait from me, ya know."

"You said it again." Naruto smirked, poking her arm.

"And you'll say it again too, just you wait." Kushina challenged.

"I will not. I happen to know when I'm about to say it, ya… Never mind." The two burst out laughing. It was a good night.


	8. Chapter 8

Back at the dining hall, after Kushina had stormed out, the silence stayed as Minato got up from his seat and walked to the front to face everyone. He knew what he was about to say was supposed to be a secret but for the sake of his son, he was going to divulge it. Minato didn't need to quiet anyone down or get their attention because that was already done, all eyes were on him, waiting for what he was about to say.

"This is in regard to the incident that took place earlier today." He began, only to be interrupted by a man in the back.

"How can we know he won't lose control like that again? The safety of the village should come first and he should be banished!" There were nods and mutters of agreement within the crowd. Minato put up a hand to quiet them down.

"He won't lose control like that again because it was no accident. Naruto had lost control because he was put under the effects of genjutsu specifically designed to provoke the rampage." People started to speak up but quieted down as Minato continued speaking. "We don't know yet for sure who did this but we have a few suspects. In the meantime, Naruto will have an escort at all times for his safety and the safety of the villagers until the culprit is caught. From this point on, I expect no discrimination against him. Don't forget he's the reason you're all sitting here right now. That is all."

As Minato began to walk back to his seat, all the villagers started talking immediately. Questions, comments, gossip, what their Hokage had told them was certainly news and they didn't know what to do with it or how to feel. "Why did you tell them what happened?" Sakura asked as Minato sat down. "Wasn't it supposed to be top secret?"

Minato nodded in agreement. "It was supposed to be but for the sake of Naruto, if the villagers knew the truth, perhaps the hate toward him would stop."

Sakura thought this over, then a thought occurred to her, she chuckled, "I wonder how Naruto's going to feel about the whole escort thing."

"Considering how good he is at Shadow Clones, I'd say this is going to be interesting." Kakashi commented.

Minato rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile, "Shadow Clones, is that so?"

"It's his specialty." Sakura informed, taking a bite of stew.

Kakashi agreed. "That's how he managed to perfect the Wind Element Rasen-Shuriken in just a few days."

"Uh, what, just a few days?" Minato stuttered out in surprise.

"More like a week but you get the gist." Yamato said.

"Amazing." Minato praised.

"Wait until you see it in action." Ino said. "It makes this noise, almost like what a diamond shining in the sun should sound like."

Choji shook his head. "It sounds more like raining shards of glass."

Yamato shrugged. "Regardless, it's a sight to see."

* * *

Naruto and his mother conversed for many hours. Naruto even asked the question he always wanted to ask his mother; how did she and Dad fall in love? The answer, the story to that question was better than Naruto could ever expect. He felt warm and happy inside and this was one of the few times in his life where he felt completely at peace.

But like with every moment, it needs to come to an end. It was late at night and a lot of the people had left the dining hall but many were still there, simply conversing. Kushina walked in first, an almost challenging look on her face to the few who still remained. Naruto walked in after her, indifference on his face. His friends and father were still there, hoping for his return. Kushina sat by Minato as Naruto continued walking to the front to put his bowl in the bin just like everyone else. "Is he alright?" Minato whispered to Kushina.

Kushina smiled cheekily. "He's fine. He's stronger than we thought ya know." Naruto sat back down at the table. The only ones left at that table were his friends and parents, Iruka, Kakashi, and Yamato. All his friends' eyes went to him, a mix of worry and pity in them.

"Why are you giving me that look? There's nothing wrong." Naruto asked.

"Yeah, but-" Choji began.

"But what?" Naruto smiled genuinely. "This isn't like back then, it doesn't bother me anymore. They're just scared and people do stupid things when they're scared. You'd leave too if you were trying to eat and you had cups being thrown at you. To be honest I thought I was going spill my food all over myself."

If they thought Naruto hadn't grown before, they definitely thought so now. They looked back on Naruto's life, really looked. He'd gone through many phases in his discrimination through the years and he'd done everything in the book. He had pleaded with people, he had been depressed, he had been angry, he had played pranks, heck, there was even a period where he had stopped talking all together, not that any noticed or cared at the time. But now, Naruto had stopped caring. He let go of all the negative feelings and tried to see it through the eyes of the villagers and tried to think about how they felt. Yes, Naruto had grown.

Naruto looked outside the entrance of the tent. "It's pretty late. I say it's a good time to go to bed. I woke up late and _I'm_ tired, I can only imagine how you guys are feeling." He sounded a bit sheepish at that last part but he was right. Only when Naruto had mentioned that had they realized how tired they were. Perhaps it is a good idea to go to bed.


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto was up bright and early the next morning. Even though it wasn't his fault, he thought it as and he felt horrible for destroying the work his group had put in. They had to start from scratch and Naruto was determined to surprise his team with a good amount of work done by the time they arrived. As Naruto has yet to be informed about the whole "Escort at all times" thing, he didn't noticed Kakashi watching him from one of the trees that Naruto hadn't managed to destroy.

Naruto thought back to the night before. He had had another nightmare. In fact, he has been having nightmares every night since his parents came back to life. It was always the same dream too; Red hot rage, destroying everything and everyone in sight. It made Naruto shudder, why would he be dreaming something so vulgar, especially multiple nights in a row? Regardless, Naruto didn't let it get him down, sure it was a terrifying sight to see but he tried not to worry, they were only dreams after all.

Two hours later people started to arrive. Team Ten was first, followed by his mom and dad then team Gai. "Who did all of this?" Ten Ten had asked when she arrived. "I'm sure we're not that late, I thought we got here on time."

"Naruto did." Shikamaru answered.

"Yeah, he got here super early and got a head start." Choji added.

"Nice work, Naruto-Kun! You're letting your youth blossom so early in the morning!" Lee exclaimed with a thumbs up.

 _How annoying._ Thought Naruto. Wait… Lee's not annoying. Besides, even if he was annoying, he was just being friendly. Naruto pushed that bad thought to the back of his head. "Thanks, Bushy Brows." Naruto responded.

"Well, now that we're here… Kakashi!" Minato called. Naruto looked in the direction his dad was calling and saw his sensei jump down from a tree.

Naruto pointed a finger at him accusingly. "Kakashi Sensei! How long have you been there for?" He exclaimed.

"As long as you've been here." Kakashi answered in his regular monotone voice.

"What! You were spying on me?!" Naruto accused. "How didn't I notice?"

"If you'd quiet down for a moment, I can explain it to you." Minato consoled calmly.

 _Like that's going to work. Once Naruto starts, it's hard for him stop._ Ino thought, but to her complete surprise and surprise to the rest, he did. _This whole parent thing isn't half bad._

Naruto stood straight, hands to his side as he faced his father. Even Kakashi was impressed with how fast he got Naruto under control considering Naruto kept his mind on one thing 'till he was satisfied. "As you know," Minato started. "You're being targeted from within Konoha and even though we have our suspicions, we don't know for sure who it is, so until that person is caught, you're to have an escort at all times to avoid any more incidents like yesterday."

"So that person's going to be Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Not always Kakashi but yes, for the most part." Minato responded. Naruto was silent for a long time. One could almost see the gears in his brain turning. Something was going through his head and they knew it wasn't good as Naruto had a hint of a scowl on his face. His fists were clenched tightly and they didn't even know if he realized it.

Finally, he spoke, "I don't need an escort." Naruto grumbled. They expected an answer like this, it was Naruto after all. However they did not expect him to give the answer in such a tone. This tone was grim, hateful even.

"It's not just for the village's safety," Minato explained. "It's for your safety as well. When you go on those rampages it weakens you considerably, visible wounds aside." Team Ten and team Gai watched the exchange in anticipation. There was some real tension in the air.

"So." Naruto said. "I haven't died yet."

"If you get to nine tails then you will die." Minato insisted.

"I have your chakra to suppress it, just like last time." Naruto's voice was low, challenging.

"That was a one-time thing." Minato reminded.

"Then I'll suppress it on my own!"

Smack.

Naruto stood there in shock. The other two teams stood there in shock. Kakashi stood there in shock. Kushina had just about enough of this exchange. She did what she had to do. "Do you think this is a game? Lives are at stake here and you're acting like a child! Not everything is about you, ya know! You're going to have an escort and that's final!"

The silence was deafening. Naruto still hadn't moved. He stood with his head at an angle, a red handprint forming at his cheek as he stared at the ground.

"I wish you two stayed dead." Naruto turned around and walked away.

Kushina's scowl disappeared as she realized what she had just done. "Naruto." She reached out her arm. Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

"Let me." Kakashi said. He left Kushina to go after Naruto who was still walking away.

"Why don't you six take a break?" Minato suggested to the flabbergasted group of teens, as he put a hand on his wife's shoulder. They walked away without a word, mouths still agape in shock.

* * *

Meanwhile Naruto was still walking away, his fists were clenched so hard that his knuckles were white and his nails were digging into his palms. He had a scowl on his face and a stinging on his left cheek. He knew Kakashi Sensei was following him but he couldn't care less, let him follow, it didn't make a difference.

Kakashi waited patiently until the time Naruto stopped walking. That proved longer than expected, however, as Naruto walked out of the village and into the forest where he kept walking for about an hour but then all at once, Naruto finally stopped. Kakashi waited but Naruto didn't move. He stood there ominously, Kakashi didn't know what Naruto's motives were or if there were any at all.

When it appeared to Kakashi that that's where Naruto was going to stay, he began to walk forward, but only began. Kakashi stopped walking when, very abruptly, Naruto turned to his right and punched the tree next to him. It went flying, wood chips going in every direction. Kakashi made for the "Suppress" sticker but let it go as soon as he saw Naruto's eyes. Sennin mode. Naruto wasn't going on a rampage, he was blowing off steam. Kakashi let go of the sticker and jumped on top of a tree to watch.

Naruto let out cries of anger and frustration as he destroyed the forest around him. Once Sennin mode finally wore off, Naruto grabbed a stack of kunai from his back pouch and threw them at whatever they would hit. Through all of this, Naruto's eyes were not red. Yes, his pupils were slits, but that's all of the Kyuubi he would allow out. His "rampage" so to speak, lasted another seven minutes before Naruto finally fell to his knees in exhaustion.

Naruto was breathing heavily when a presence appeared next to him and something showed up out of the corner of his eye. "Here." Kakashi said, holding out a canteen of water. Naruto breathed for a few more seconds before finally standing up, pushing away the canteen as he did.

"I don't need it."

"You don't want it." Kakashi corrected. Naruto didn't meet his eye, instead he looked down at Kakashi's feet. Silence fell over the two as Kakashi put the canteen away. Even Naruto, who was a hot-head, shouldn't have gotten mad so easily back there with his parents unless something else was bothering him. "I've never seen you as happy before as you are with your parents." Kakashi saw Naruto visibly stiffen. "You didn't mean what you said back there."

Naruto looked up at him and scowled. "Yes I did."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did."

"Yes you did." Kakashi said.

"No I didn't!" Naruto yelled. He froze when he realized the trap he had fallen into. He made no move to correct himself. The statement was true. The statement was true. The statement was true. "No I didn't." He repeated. There was something akin to defeat in his voice. "No I didn't." Naruto looked at Kakashi with pleading eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I've been feeling so angry and agitated lately and I don't know why. It seems like every little thing is setting me off and I keep having that nightmare."

"Nightmare?" Kakashi asked. This was news.

"I'm in Konoha and I'm towering above everyone else. I'm destroying everything and everyone in my path. There are dead bodies everywhere and the village is destroyed. I've been having it ever since Mom and Dad came back." There was a haunting look in Naruto's eyes as he recounted the terror he's being forced to see over and over again.

Kakashi thought this over. There really was only one explanation to this. "You're seeing the night the Kyuubi attacked through the Kyuubi's eyes."

"W-what?" Asked Naruto stunned. "But how?"

"I don't know that either but I don't see how it wouldn't be possible, considering the Kyuubi is sealed inside you." Kakashi answered. Naruto frowned. "What is it?"

"I should go apologize." Naruto said. Guilt was written all over his face; guilt and exhaustion. Kakashi held out the canteen once more. "Thanks." Naruto accepted it this time and drank greedily from it, only now realizing how thirsty he actually was.

Kakashi shook his head fondly. Something was defiantly wrong with Naruto but now wasn't the time to talk about that. Now was the time to help a kid who got mad at his parents and felt bad for it.


	10. Chapter 10

Kakashi and Naruto headed back to the village. The only thing on Kakashi's mind was the night terror Naruto was having and what it means. The only thing on Naruto's mind was apologizing and taking back the horrible thing he had said.

The two teams and the two parents were working once more when Naruto and Kakashi returned. Ino was the first to notice when she heard footsteps. "Naruto?"

Kushina looked up when she heard Ino. Naruto was walking toward her. "Naruto. I didn't mean to slap you like that. It was out of place and wrong. I had no ri-" Naruto hugged her.

"I'm so glad you're alive. I'm so glad you and Dad are alive. I'm so glad you're alive. I'm so glad." Naruto couldn't stop repeating those words because no matter how many times he said them, they were never the less true.

After Kushina got over her initial shock at the hug she was defiantly not expecting, she hugged him back. "I'm glad we're alive too ya know. I got to meet my son all grown up. That was the one thing I was most sad about was that I wasn't going to be able to see you grow up, but now here you are, taller than me."

Naruto let out a small laugh at that last comment as he hugged his mother tighter because he realized something: Mother's hugs were way better than any kind of hug he's ever had, as few as those were. A mother's hug was filled with so much love and comfort, and security. It felt like home.

As team ten and team Gai watched on, it was only in this moment that they realized how good they had it. They didn't know what it was like to not have parents and since they've been around their whole lives they had taken them for granted. But seeing Naruto hug his mother for the first time like this, never knowing her nor his father his entire life, each of them made a mental note to hug their parents the next time they see them.

* * *

Naruto had exhausted himself that day. He skipped dinner and headed straight to bed. This gave Kakashi a chance to pull aside Kushina, Minato and the others he has asked for the previous time he spoke in private to, once again, speak in private.

"The night the Kyuubi attacked?" Minato clarified.

"Yes." Kakashi nodded. "Through the eyes of the Kyuubi."

"Minato has the other half sealed inside him, why isn't he having such a dream too?" Kushina asked.

"Perhaps because Minato has learned to control his half while Naruto hasn't… Or perhaps because we're the only ones to know about that." Kakashi suggested.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Iruka asked.

"Well, if it is true and Naruto's being targeted to make the Hokage look bad, why wouldn't they just go straight to the Hokage if they knew he had part of the Kyuubi sealed within him too?" Kakashi inquired.

"You think it isn't the Kyuubi doing it but someone doing it to him?" Minato asked.

"That's exactly what I think. Earlier Naruto also told me he's been angry and agitated lately for no reason. Usually the Kyuubi starts to leak through because Naruto's angry. What if now Naruto's only angry _because_ the Kyuubi is leaking through? That would explain the dreams of the Kyuubi's memories and the spurts of anger for no reason. The seal is slowly breaking and the Kyuubi's hate that's leaking through is affecting Naruto's mind." Kakashi explained.

"Speculating that it's most likely Danzo, how is he doing it?" Gai asked.

"I haven't figured that out yet." Kakashi replied in a tired voice.

"Is it wise to leave Naruto alone right now then?" Yamato asked.

"There aren't many people I trust at the moment so I sent Pakkun to watch him for the time being." Kakashi assured.

"Good call." Kurenai said. "But now to our big problem, if we don't know what's causing the seal to break, how do we fix it before it is too late?"

"We could always… Relocate Naruto?" Gai suggested.

"How do you think that's going to sit with Naruto?" Iruka said what the rest were thinking.

"We could send him on a mission." Gai added.

"That could buy us some time, but missions aren't forever and if we keep him away too long he'll surely start to get suspicious." Kakashi pointed out. Sighs erupted from everyone in the room.

* * *

As Naruto slept, Pakkun sat next to Naruto's bed. Kakashi had explained to Pakkun the situation and so far, nothing out of the ordinary was happening. More and more people were entering the tent to go to bed and an occasional bug would fly through the entrance of the tent. Pakkun was beginning to get bored but never let his guard down for a moment.

* * *

"You should have been there." Ino was saying to those who weren't there to witness the day's events. "The way Naruto was with his mom, it almost made me want to cry and go hug _my_ parents."

Ten Ten nodded in agreement. "It really made me realize how much we actually take our parents or any of our loved ones for granted. Even though they may annoy us or get on our nerves, they've always been there for us and they've always loved us."

Lee was crying in the dramatic manner he did. "Naruto-Kun grew up all alone and didn't even complain about it once. Not even when he saw us happy with our families."

Sakura listened to the words they were saying and felt a knot of guilt building in her chest. She felt not only the times she'd despised her parents, but all the times she complained about them to Naruto. He just sat there and listened. Never got mad at her for complaining about what he didn't have, what he desperately wanted more than anything. Naruto was a better person than the rest of them combined, she realized, a stronger person than the rest of them combined. And that was that last good day until Naruto's slow downfall.


	11. Chapter 11

Minato woke up before his wife and son the next morning. Looking at the opening in the tent, he could see that the sun was only just starting to rise. He lie back down, hoping to get a bit more sleep. But for all the tired he felt, that went away when he saw Naruto. Naruto had beads of sweat on his forehead and he was gasping for air. He was spasming and flailing around, grasping at his stomach over and over again. "Naruto." Minato spoke, hoping to wake up his son. Naruto didn't hear him. "Naruto." Minato called a bit louder. Almost all, save for maybe two or three other people, were still asleep and he didn't want to wake them. Naruto still didn't hear him. Minato had just about enough of this. He stood up and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder to shake him awake. "Naruto." He called a third time.

Naruto's eyes shot open. His breathing was on the verge on hyperventilation as his eyes darted around the room, trying to get his bearings. Minato noted that Naruto's eyes were the Kyuubi's once more, not only that but Naruto had the sharp teeth and flared whiskers as well. The few people who were awake was watching the scene unfold before them. "You're awake, Naruto." Minato assured. Naruto glanced up at him, trying to figure out who this person was. His mind was foggy as was his eyesight. But when his father's face finally came into focus, Naruto began to calm down. His breathing began to even out and his features, for the most part, returned to normal. His eyes however remained the same.

"Dad?"

"Were you having that dream again?" Minato asked. Naruto nodded. "Get your shoes on."

"Why?" Naruto asked, though he was doing what he was told.

"We're going somewhere." His father answered. Minato all but grabbed Naruto's wrist as he walked out of the tent. A few more people had woken up and they watched as the two left.

Naruto wouldn't say it out loud, but his father was hurting his wrist. He tried to subtly worm his way out of the grasp but to no avail. Naruto resorted to wondering if he had done something wrong. He couldn't control the dream he kept having and his father should know that. So why was he treating him like some criminal? He couldn't help what was happening to him. "Let me go." Naruto growled.

His father spared him only a glance. "When your eyes are blue again, I'll let you go."

"I haven't done anything wrong!"

Minato stopped walking. His features softened as he turned to face his son. "I know you haven't. But the seal is breaking and the Kyuubi is slowly leaking out, and it's messing with your head. If I let you go you might run and I can't risk that right now."

"Where are you taking me?" Naruto calmed down a bit.

"Someplace safe." Minato assured. Naruto nodded. That was all he needed as they started walking again. Minato took Naruto out of the front gates of Konoha and out. They walked half an hour through the woods, Minato looking around attentively. Finally, they stopped.

The two stood in front of a tree no different than the rest. "Why are we standing in front of a tree?" Naruto asked in an unimpressed voice.

Minato put his fingers together and, "Release." The tree turned into a trapped door.

"What is this?" Naruto asked, surprised by the door that suddenly appeared in the ground.

"It's a secret place I built many years ago. You're going to stay here until we catch whoever's behind this."

Naruto stared at it. The square, metal door in the ground that led away from civilization. Naruto's teeth clenched. His hands balled into fists. This was a cage. This was going to keep him locked away. This wasn't for his own protection, this was for everyone else's. They were scared of him. His father was scared of him. He bet his mother was scared of him too. "No."

Minato glanced at him. "Hmm?"

Naruto clenched his fists tighter. "No. I'm not going to be locked in some cage like an animal."

Naruto was letting the hate that was leaking out slowly take over, that much Minato can tell. He didn't even know if Naruto realized he was doing it. What he did know was that his child inherited his mother's stubbornness, that and the anger to top it all off, getting Naruto into the bunker wasn't going to be an easy task. Minato didn't want to lock Naruto away either, he thought of a compromise that could suffice. He turned to face Naruto.

"As you know very well, you're being targeted. We don't know how, but they're making the seal on your stomach progressively break." Minato paused to let that sink in. "Because of that, the Kyuubi's hate is starting to leak out too and it's slowly taking over your mind. You yourself have told Kakashi that you've been feeling angrier and more agitated lately for no reason, well that's the reason. Usually the hate leaks out because you're angry but now you're angry because it's leaking out. If you can control that anger, you'll be allowed to remain in the village but you only get one chance."

Naruto thought long and hard about what his father had told him. Control his anger. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to let go of the overwhelming agitation he was feeling at the moment. He tried to let go of the negative thoughts he was having. When Naruto opened his eyes he was much more relaxed. His eyes remained that of the Kyuubi's but Minato figured it was because of the leaking seal and there was nothing they could do about that. "Have you calmed down?"

Naruto's fists clenched one last time before relaxing altogether. "Yes."

Minato made a hand seal and the door turned into a tree once more. Genjutsu probably. Naruto noted. "Then let's head back to the village."

* * *

When the two had gotten back, they got properly dressed and ready for the day. It was a free day to do whatever and though Naruto walked alone to get breakfast, he knew he was being tailed. Still gotta keep the monster on a leash, huh? Naruto shook his head, don't think like that.

When Naruto entered the food hall, he saw Sakura at the table. She was always one for being up early, Naruto remembered. "Sakura-Chan." He waved at her.

She looked up. She saw his eyes. She thought best not to comment on it. "Naruto. What are you doing up so early?"

Naruto shrugged as he sat down across from her. "Fell asleep early last night."

"Right."

"So, are you doing anything today?" Asked Naruto, making friendly conversation.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "You're not asking me on another date are you?"

"No, no nothing like that… Unless Sakura-Chan wants it to be." Naruto smirked.

Sakura raised her fist threateningly. "Do you want to find out?"

Naruto waved his hands sheepishly. "No, that's okay. Sakura-Chan, why do you have to be so mean?"

Sakura shook her head in humor and lowered her fist. "I was just going to take it easy today but since most of the village is still destroyed, there's really not that much to do."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "I thought about just going to train for a while, seeing as not even Ichiraku's Ramen is open, ya know. I was thinking about having some alone time but that proves impossible with this one tailing me." He pointed at the exact hiding spot Kakashi was in. "You might as well come out Kakashi."

Sakura looked around, wondering what Naruto was talking about that is, until Kakashi appeared out of nowhere. "Yo."

"How did you?" Sakura began to ask.

"Someone's breaking the seal and it's doing more than just changing my eyes." Naruto informed with a smile.

This was and wasn't news to Sakura, but then a thought occurred to her. "If the Kyuubi's leaking out, how are you not furious all the time?"

Naruto's eye twitched. "I am. But if I don't learn to control it, I have to be sent away."

Sakura nodded, noticing the eye twitch. "Well, Kakashi Sensei, why don't you take a break? I'll take Naruto off your hands for a while."

Kakashi thought about this. "Fine but if something happens-"

"Yeah, yeah." Sakura waved off, knowing well what he was going to say. Kakashi shrugged and disappeared. Sakura turned her attention back to Naruto. "Why don't we go to the training grounds, see who would win in a battle?" Sakura joked. Despite her having much more brute strength, she knew Naruto was much more powerful than her.

"Sounds like a plan. But just so you know, if we do fight, I won't hold back." Naruto joked back. The two got up and left the tent, walking to the largest training field. When they arrived, they saw the rest of their friends there.

"What took so long?" Kiba called as if Naruto and Sakura were expected.

"You were expecting us?" Sakura asked once they got a bit closer.

"There's nothing else to do. All of us met here by coincidence too. We expected you to show up at some point." Choji said.

"Seems reasonable." Commented Naruto. Once Sakura and Naruto got close enough to the rest of the group, they took notice of Naruto's eyes. None of them knew if they should comment on it. Kiba spoke up.

"Angry about something, Naruto?" He asked curiously. Naruto seemed in a good enough mood to him.

"Oh, this?" Naruto pointed to his eyes. "Yes. Everything at the moment. But there's nothing I can do about it and if I don't keep my anger in check I'll be taken out of the village." He added no further explanation. On the inside, the stares they were giving him made him want to rip their throats out and he was basically convinced Kiba was trying to provoke him to make him angrier. Naruto closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked at them with a forced smile that he tried his best make to look genuine.

"Right." Shikamaru said, only to break the silence.

"Naruto-Kun, I'm glad you're here, I've been hoping to have a battle with you." Lee pronounced.

"You won't win." Naruto's reply was instantaneous, barely giving Lee enough time to finish his last word.

"Well that's a bit conceited, don't you think?" Ino said more than asked, crossing her arms.

Naruto's jaw clenched. "It's not conceited. I can only use Sennin Mode because the seal is extremely weak and if I use any chakra it'll be even weaker. None of you stand a chance against Sennin Mode."

They didn't know that the seal was breaking until just now when Naruto told them. "Why is it weak?" Neji asked.

"Because someone's sabotaging me you idiot!" Naruto snapped.

"Naruto." Sakura warned.

"Sorry." Naruto mumbled, looking off to the side.

Neji was taken aback by the way Naruto spoke to him. This definitely was not the Naruto they knew and he knew all of them had to be careful. Lee knocked him out of his thoughts. "It doesn't matter. I know I'd probably lose to you in a regular battle as well. I just want the chance to battle you." He stated passionately.

"Your funeral." Naruto remarked, plopping on the ground, putting his hands together and closing his eyes. They watched as he gathered natural energy. They did not like the way he was acting toward them but they knew it was only because the Kyuubi's hatred was affecting his mind and there was nothing he nor they could do about it.

The orange appeared around Naruto's eyes and he opened them. What was peculiar was that not only did he have the frog pupils, the kyuubi's eyes had stayed so it was an almost abomination of a crossover. He stood up, "Ready."

The others backed away as Lee and Naruto got into position. As both got into stance, Naruto heard a voice in the back of his mind say, "Kill him." Naruto smirked, that's all the convincing he needed.

"Konoha senpuu!" Lee yelled.

It all happened very fast. Naruto made six kage bushin. One grabbed Lee's leg and slammed him to the ground. Three more joined in and held him down. As that happened the remaining two helped Naruto make a Rasen Shuriken. "That's Naruto's most powerful attack!" Choji exclaimed.

"If Lee gets hit with that, he'll die!" Ino yelled. Panic rose in everyone. Shouts and calls from everyone were telling Naruto to stop. He didn't hear them. The Rasen Shuriken got bigger as it charged up, everyone was panicking. Naruto was about to throw it, until…

"Kagemane no jutsu, success." Shikamaru had a hold on Naruto's shadow. Naruto growled in anger as he tried to resist, it almost worked, had Shikamaru not acted fast it would have broken. Shikamaru turned and had Naruto throw the Rasen Shuriken into the empty woods. Only when the attack had hit something and blew up that area, did Naruto snap out of his trance. The clones disappeared as well as Sennin mode. "Have you calmed down, Naruto?" Shikamaru let go when Naruto let out a weak, yes.

Naruto turned to face the rest of the group. His face was horrified, exhausted and guilty all at the same time. "I'm sorry." He said weakly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" Like a broken record, it was all he could say. Sakura stepped forward, if only to comfort him but Naruto took two steps back. "Stay away! I don't want to hurt you." His mind was so far away and all they could do was watch in pity. "I'm sorry…" He started to repeat again. Naruto had his head down and he was covering his ears. His eyes looked traumatized. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"


	12. Chapter 12

Nothing.

There was nothing any of them could do as they watched Naruto finally crack in front of them.

Naruto had fallen to his knees. He was pulling at his hair. He was hyperventilating. He was scaring them all. Sure, they had seen Naruto being emotional before, but this was beyond emotion. His mind had officially broken.

Finally Shino subtly moved his hand in Naruto's direction and a bug landed on his neck. Naruto didn't notice. It bit him. The effect worked immediately. All at once Naruto calmed down and fell to his side, eyes still open. "What did you do?" Hinata asked fearfully.

"Something new I've been working on to take out my enemies in battle. So far it only relaxes the entire body and mind, why? It's just a prototype." Shino responded in his matter-of-fact voice he always uses.

Sakura slowly and carefully made her way over to Naruto. His eyes were glazed over, she noticed. "Choji, h-help me out here." Sakura was trying her best to keep herself together. Though she may not have hung out with him the longest, she was the closest to him and this was so different from the loud, idiot he used to be that she was on the verge of tears.

Choji didn't say anything as he helped Sakura pick up the limp Naruto and prop him into a sitting position against a nearby wooden training post. A glow emitted from her hands as she tried to find something on him to heal, there had to be something she could heal. The only thing she could find was the exhaustion in his body so she resorted to that. "H-how long does this stuff last, Shino?"

"I have no idea, why? Naruto's the first person I've tested it on."

Sakura's anger flared at this. "So you could have potentially killed him, you said so yourself it's supposed to be poison!"

"I knew it wouldn't kill him because, I know the poison isn't ready yet." He responded.

"Poison is poison, you still shouldn't have taken that chance!" Sakura yelled.

"Naruto was scaring me as much as you. I only did what I thought was right at the moment."

Sakura's eyes widened, she felt guilt bubble up. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about that." She mumbled. She looked back at Naruto's face. She could feel his muscles twitch as she healed him and knew the poison from the bugs would wear off soon. Wait. Poison from the bugs. Bugs. They're so subtle and discreet, no one would take second glance at them. Realization dawned on Sakura. She stood up so fast, Gai Sensei would be proud. "Watch Naruto. I need to do something." She took off running.

"Oi! Sakura!" Shikamaru called after but it was too late. "Jeez, what was that about?"

"When Sakura-Chan has her mind on something, it's usually hard for her to let it go until it's done." All eyes turned from where Sakura ran off to, to the broken-minded person behind them. His eyes held fear as he looked up at them. "Lee, I-"

Lee held a thumbs up and smiled reassuringly. "No need to keep apologizing, Naruto. It was all an accident."

"Heh." Naruto let out a humorless laugh and with that humorless laugh, they knew he didn't believe Lee. "Just promise me that," He paused to adjust himself into a better sitting position. "The next time I try to kill one of you and you can't stop me with words, you'll kill me."

* * *

Sakura ran as fast as she could to the village. She occasionally ran into people to which she called back a hurried sorry as she continued to run.

Sakura practically ran into Kakashi as he appeared in front of her. "Sakura, what is it?" He asked seriously, thinking that Naruto had lost control again.

Sakura had to take a second to catch her breath from all that running. "Kakashi Sensei, I think I know how Naruto's being sabotaged."

* * *

Those who were at the meetings prior, were at this one, in a tent to themselves. "Sakura, you said you think you know how this is happening to Naruto." Kakashi said.

Sakura nodded and proceeded to explain everything that happened at the training field. "When Shino explained that he could transfer poison with his bugs, I thought about how discreet and unsuspected it is. Naruto has had eyes on him the whole time and he's still getting worse, that's really the only plausible explanation."

"Why didn't we think of this earlier? It all makes sense." Yamato commented.

"I'll need to gather every bug user in Konoha but please, be discreet. We don't need to raise any suspicion. Kakashi, I'd like you to find Inoichi for me, and Kushina," Minato looked at his wife. "Don't leave Naruto's side."

* * *

Kushina and Sakura walked together back to the training field. "How was he when you left?" Kushina asked.

"He should be lucid by now… But I'm not too sure on how his state of mind is going to be." Sakura replied sadly. Their answer was met with a painful yell once they came into view of the training ground.

Naruto was on the ground, on his back, writhing around in pain. He was grabbing and clawing at his stomach in what looked like a futile attempt to stop the pain there. Sakura and Kushina began running immediately. "Naruto!" Sakura called out desperately.

"Out of my way!" Kushina yelled once she arrived to the panicking youths surrounding her son. Naruto was still writhing around as she kneeled down beside him. "This is going to hurt a lot more than what's happening now." She muttered. The others watched in anticipation as Kushina lifted Naruto's jacket to reveal the seal on his stomach. Naruto continued to move around every which way, and he was still grasping at his stomach which was no good for Kushina to work. "I need four of you to hold down his arms and legs!" When no one moved she yelled. "NOW!"

Lee, Neji, Shikamaru and Kiba each grabbed a limb and held down Naruto, who's screaming only grew as it was more painful to sit still. Kushina lifted his jacket to reveal the seal once more. She placed her hand on the seal and twisted her hand right. The onlookers watched as it seemed to spin. With one last painful cry, Naruto fell limp. "I couldn't shut it all the way but it's closed enough." Kushina said.

"I-is he-" Hinata began to ask.

"He just passed out from shock. He'll be fine. The Kyuubi almost broken through on top of hastily repairing it like that, it's a very painful process, ya know."

"So… Had you been a few minutes late…" Choji tried to ask.

Kushina nodded. "Yes." She sat behind Naruto and laid his head on her lap. "Everyone was very lucky, especially Naruto. If a Jinchuuriki is separated from their bijuu, they die." Kushina decided not to mention how she was an exception. "Especially since it was sealed in him within hours of being born."

"What kind of parents seal a monster into their own son?" Kiba commented unkindly. A few others found themselves nodding in agreement.

Kushina wasn't mad at them. "Minato was the one who decided to do it. He believed one day Naruto could control the Kyuubi's power. Even though that day hasn't come yet, I believe it will." She was calm, she expected this kind of reaction. There was silence until Kushina remembered something. "Oh, Shino, I believe Kakashi wanted you for something, he didn't say what though."

"Got it." Said Shino before taking his leave.

Sakura sat down next to Naruto and put her hands over his chest, healing chakra emitting from her palms. She frowned. "Some of his vital organs were on the verge of shutting down. Right now they're slowly healing. I should be able to speed up the process but he's going to need bed rest, though it wouldn't be wise to move him right now."

No one said much as the day continued. Naruto's head remained sitting on his mother's lap and the rest were sitting around in various places too. "Do you think he's going to be the same when this is all over?" Ino had asked around midday.

"He's Naruto. He always seems to bounce back." Kiba answered confidently… Well, partially confidently. Truth be told all of them had their doubts. Naruto's been through a lot of things but this was different. Before Naruto had a choice on how to act but this time, his mind was being taken from him. He had no control over anything.

No more comments on the subject could be made, however, because Naruto finally started to stir. Naruto opened his eyes. His eyes were blue once more but his pupils were as they were earlier. He looked around and saw the smiling faces of his friends and mother. He made no attempt to move. His entire body hurt and he didn't even know if he could blink without feeling pain. "You gave us quite the scare." Shikamaru smiled, trying to sound casual. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was crushed by a mountain then had my insides torn out and chewed on." Naruto mumbled in response.

"Where does it hurt the most?" Sakura asked, getting ready for a second round of healing.

"Sakura-Chan, you don't have to-"

"Quite being stubborn and just tell me." Sakura demanded.

"My stomach." Naruto relented. He had to admit, when Sakura started healing him he started to feel immensely better.

Naruto looked around at his friends, their faces showed worry and… fear. Were they scared of him? Why were they scared of him? Did he hurt someone? No one was hurt as far as he could tell. Besides, everyone was th… Where was Shino? Did he hurt Shino?

As Sakura healed Naruto, she could feel his heart rate suddenly go up. It seems like his mind wasn't totally okay after all. "Naruto, what's wrong?" She asked.

Naruto looked around once more just to make sure Shino wasn't just blending in with the crowd. "Did I hurt someone?" He asked fearfully. "Shino isn't here, did I hurt him?"

Naruto's friends took pity on him. They had a feeling Naruto wanted the old Naruto back just as much as they did. Kushina spoke up. "I'd expect you wouldn't remember what happened. Shino is fine, he was just called for a mission." She saw Naruto visibly relax. "You on the other hand, the seal almost broke. I made it here in time to repair the seal as much I could but you passed out from the pain of all of it." She saw an annoyed expression on Naruto's face at that last comment. "It doesn't make you weak, Naruto. Take it from me, the Kyuubi escaping is the most painful thing anyone could ever experience. So don't feel weak."

Now, it had been explained to Naruto that the previous Jinchuuriki to the Kyuubi had been his mother but it had not been explained to the rest of his friends, so they sat there in shock at the revelation. Kushina, one the other hand, either didn't notice or didn't care because she kept her eyes on Naruto. "The most painful thing anyone could ever experience." Naruto repeated, closing his eyes though not falling asleep. "Good to know."

* * *

Shino found Kakashi, or more so Kakashi found Shino. "What do you need?" Shino asked when Kakashi appeared in front of him.

Kakashi leaned forward and whispered so only Shino could hear. "No one thinks it's you, it's only precaution."

Shino was confused as Kakashi escorted him to a heavily guarded building. The only rebuilt building in fact. Inside were the rest of the bug users in Konoha, and Inoichi and the rest of the mind reading interrogation unit. Shino was calm as Kakashi's words rang in his mind. _It's only a precaution._ Shino knew he didn't do anything wrong and therefor there was nothing to worry about.

Once everyone was there, Minato stood before all of them. "In here, one or possibly more of you are traitors to Konoha. Unless they want to come clean now, we will have our best interrogators enter your mind and find out for ourselves. So, does anyone want to come clean?" When no one said anything for a full minute, Minato said, "Okay then. Let's get started."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Hours. Hours Shino was there as one by one each bug user in Konoha had their minds being looked through. Shino kept calm as he watched the others there. Those there ranged from as calm as him to trying to hide the panic.

Since Shino was there for so long, he had time to think and in that time to think, he pieced together what was going on. A bug user was the one making Naruto go crazy. It really was a brilliant plan, only a genius could have thought of it.

It took a full three hours for everyone's mind to be looked through but when they were done, Minato stood before them once more. Shino noticed Minato had a frustrated look on his face. "I would like to announce that everyone here is clean, and I would like to apologize for the accusations and inconvenience of your time. But you must understand that we are trying to take every precaution. As consolation for this incident, the Aburame compound will be the first clan compound to be rebuilt. You are all free to go."

The Aburame clan was a clan of very intellectual people and therefore they understood the Hokage's dilemma. They held no resentment toward the Hokage as they left the only finished building. All but Shino of course, who stayed behind.

"Minato rubbed the bridge of his nose as he turned to Inoichi. "Well that was a disaster."

Inoichi placed a hand on Minato's shoulder. "The Aburame clan are a group of very understanding people. I'm sure they won't hold any resentment toward you."

"Hokage Sama."

Minato turned around to find one of the clansmen still there. Shino, he thought his name was. "Yes. Is there something I can help you with?" Minato was nervous that this one would hold some kind of grudge against him and that's why he was still here.

"There's no need to fret, Hokage Sama. Why? I bear no grudge against you. I understand your intentions. I would like to speak to you about your thought process that led to the theory of an Aburame committing this crime against Naruto."

Minato nodded. "Go ahead."

"I do believe that an Aburame has committed this crime as well. But I believe they are one that is not easy to find."

Minato was intrigued. He nodded for Shino to continue.

"I believe they are ones that are kept secret, even from the Hokage. So of course that rules out ANBU. The only group that is kept from the Hokage is the organization Root. I believe you will find your bug user there." Shino paused to let that sink in. "It would make the most sense too. Root is run by Danzo and from what I have heard, Danzo has been after the seat for Hokage for quite a while."

"That is brilliant, Shino." Minato praised. "But I must ask how you know all of this."

Though his high collar covered that part of his face so Minato couldn't see, Shino smirked. "I am a very observant shinobi, Hokage Sama. No need to worry. I will keep this information to myself when I leave these walls."

Minato didn't know what to say. But he smiled nevertheless. This generation of shinobi was sure to be outstanding. "Thank you for the input. We will defiantly be taking it into consideration."

Shino bowed his head before turning and leaving the building.

"Root." Minato said, crossing his arms. "It had to be Root."

Instead of heading back to the training field, Shino started walking to the dining hall, sure that it was lunch time by now. As he entered the tent, he found that he was correct. As he took his seat, he noticed that neither Naruto nor Naruto's mother was there.

"Yo, Shino." Kiba said. "So what were you called for?"

Shino started putting food on his plate. "I'm afraid that information is classified. Has Naruto and his mother elected not to have lunch?"

"They stayed behind at the training field." Sakura explained. "They said that none of them were hungry."

Shino pulled apart a pair of chopsticks. "Seems like a reasonable response."

"Mom." Naruto said. He was now leaning against a stump and Kushina was leaning against the one next to him. Kushina didn't respond but she knew Naruto knew she was listening. "Do you think this will all end on a good note? I just got you and Dad back and… I don't know what I'd do if I lost you guys again. I don't know what I'd do if I lost any of the people I care about. And I'm afraid I'm going to hurt them… or worse. I almost killed Bushy Brows today. What if I do something like that again?"

"Look at me." Kushina said. She had a determined look in her eyes. Naruto lifted his head and looked at his mother. "You are Uzumaki Naruto. You take after both me and your father. Do you know what that means?" Naruto shook his head. "It means you're an unstoppable force, ya know. It means that you can get through anything. Things may be bad right now but they're not going to be forever. Even if you lose your friends or your father or me. You will be okay, and you will overcome anything and everything. You've made it this far, there's nothing in the universe that will stop you now. Not even this."

Naruto smiled. A genuine one. He's only known his mother for a few days but… I feels like she's been with him his whole life and truthfully, she probably has.


End file.
